An international symposium and its underground offshoot

By Margaret Wright

Cultural geographer Ronald Horvath wasn’t thinking of a specific place when he conjured the concept of “machine wilderness” in the ’60s. It helped him describe what he saw taking place across the American Southwest, as technology gradually transfigured the feral landscape. But the phrase describes New Mexico well. And it’s the driving force behind this year’s International Symposium on Electronic Art, taking place here in Albuquerque in September.

More options for yarn, fabric, notions and know-how

By Elizabeth W. Hughes

Fiber Chicks

Fiber Chicks is hidden in a courtyard in Old Town between a coffee shop and an art gallery. It’s easy to miss. But once you’re inside, miles of yarn become a blank slate for knitting, crocheting and felting. Fibers from all over the world and a mix of crafters and tourists exploring Old Town are brought together by the common thread of fiber arts, with owner Lesley Miller serving as hostess and tour guide.

Except for in your own mind, you don’t have to be an expert on anything to create a zine. Journalistic objectivity is a myth. Everything you think, do or say is colored by what you’ve heard and seen all your life.

Steampunk’s mashup of anachronism and science fiction throws a wrench in the cogs of throwaway culture

By Ethan Gilsdorf

Steampunk has been part of the cultural conversation for the past several years, as DIY-ers have embraced a handwrought, Steam Age aesthetic over high-tech gloss. Both a pop culture genre and an artistic movement, steampunk has its roots in 19th- and early-20th-century science fiction like Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. Its fans reimagine the Industrial Revolution mashed-up with modern technology such as the computer. Dressing the part calls for corsets and lace-up boots for women, top hats and frock coats for men. Accessories include goggles, leather aviator caps and the occasional ray gun. And there's a hint of Sid Vicious and Mad Max in there, too.

Gifts with class(es)

By Jessica Cassyle Carr

Give a girl a tea cozy and her tea will be ... cozy? Teach her to make a tea cozy and all of her friends and family members will have them, too—whether they need them or not. This year, consider giving someone you love the gift of knowledge—or, if you're a fast learner, craft your own presents. Below are a handful of businesses and organizations with a specialty in instruction.

Obscure tracks from Derek Caterwaul

By Jessica Cassyle Carr

Derek Caterwaul is a promoter of local DIY music and arts events, as well as a DJ—most notably he’s a long-time host on KUNM’s “Music to Soothe the Savage Beast” on Tuesday nights. Appropriately, his contribution of random tracks may be the most obscure this column has seen since its inception a year ago.